Photos of members' lathes and other favourites....

[Nick]

Methinks there is a need for a sticky thread of photos of members' lathes and other favourite workshop equipment - a one line description and a photo sort of thing....

I have but one small lathe - a Hobbymat which I will photograph later today...

[Alan Douglas]

Well as you're asking so nicely (I believe that's a Bluebottle quote):



My 11" Logan, made in the mid-1950s. It takes 5C collets directly in the headstock which is very convenient.

[Joe]

Here's my Pool's Special Long Bed:-

   

- Joe

[AlanBeckett]

You haven't put all the Bolts back at the Headstock end young Joe.

Alan

[Retired]

Hi,

It will be interesting Nick to see what lathes are owned by members; if we carry on Mark will have to rename the forum?

Here's my input and I'm not in the least ashamed of my addition; at the moment I own four lathes.

1/ Record Power DML 24" woodturning lathe. Single phase bought for me as a Christmas present over twenty years ago by my lovely Bron and it's still a pleasure to use. I'll keep this lathe.

   

2/ Clarke CL300M engineering lathe;single phase; another lathe kindly bought for me by Bron as a Christmas present but much more recently. This is a small lathe which I like and dislike in equal measure mostly because I'm used to big industrial type lathes. Not having this lathe long I set to one day turning a small item and slapped roughing cuts on at 60 thou only for the lathe to expire in a cloud of smoke as I destroyed the circuit board and DC motor. Whoops; I should have read the manual first because these lathes only scratch metal taking a maximum recommended cut of ten thou? I've since spent another £200 on this Clarke upgrading to a more powerful servo motor with variable speed and counter-shaft drive scrapping both the original circuit board and motor so now it takes a decent bite. I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS TYPE OF LATHE BECAUSE OF THE POOR ELECTRICS WHICH ARE COSTLY TO REPLACE!! (£130 for a circuit board). These small lathes are mentioned many times on the web by owners blowing them up and being faced with rip off prices for replacement parts; had I known up front I wouldn't have touched it but now it's a decent little lathe and will be OK for turning small items.

   

3/ Union Graduate woodturning lathe; these are regarded as the Rolls Royce of woodturning lathes and I've always dreamed of owning one. Bought recently from an academy in Rochdale I subjected it to a comprehensive restoration/upgrade. Top quality Brook 1.1KW inverter rated 3 phase motor coupled up to a new Huanyang VFD; new bearings and drive belt plus other new parts and given a nice machinery enamel paint job in RAL 9001 cream white; this lathe deserves its reputation as it runs beautifully and is a lathe to keep.

   

4/ Lorch Schmidt (German) precision engineering lathe of exceptional quality this only being bought a few days ago and requiring a restoration although the basics are in excellent condition; this lathe is a very useful size being much bigger than the Clarke but smaller than my previous Colchester Triumph; it runs and could be used as is but I can't accept and use such an untidy lathe but hopefully one to keep once it's sorted. This is now the second Lorch lathe owned by a forum member; David has owned a delightful Lorch watch-makers Lorch Schmidt lathe for quite a while which David has fettled up making it most desirable.

   

Your Logan looks very tidy indeed Alan D and I bet its a pleasure to own and use.

Your old Pools warhorse will run for years to come Joe but how about treating it to a lick of paint?

Kind regards, Col.

[Refugee]

Is the Record lathe hydro-electric powered?

[Retired]

Hi,

What a great question Refugee. Given that the lathe is so near the garage doors I could easily convert it to hydro electric power given the amount of water which runs down these doors most of the year. I've turned items on this Record DML whilst water and high wind has blasted against the doors only a couple of feet away from me; in order to stop the gale coming under the doors I place wooden battens at the base of the doors on the floor. I can't understand what is happening though because it's mid January in Yorkshire and the last two days have been like summer or what we call summer here; cold of a morning but then it's brightened up; makes me glad to be alive in fact Bron and I have been out today making the most of it whilst it lasts.

Kind regards, Col.

[Refugee]

Yes indeed. I was inspired by all the plumbing to the right of the compressor.

[Nick]

The part of the workshop for wood & metal work is only 10' x 10', so everything (except the planer and a couple of other things) is just packed in - I can only use them when the weather is fine (hah!) so I can take the table saw, router table & other big stuff outside first (the shack door also opens into this bit so even more space is lost).

There is a nice little Hobbymat MD65 lathe with the BFE65 milling head on it at the back - its the yellow thing buried under a load of other stuff (note to self - need to tidy that bit up...)

   

Now that the offspring have sprung off (all at university or just left uni), we will downsize the house in a couple of years (very sad as we built this one from our own designs).

However, SWMBO agrees I need a FAR larger workshop - at least 500sq ft - so that's signed & sealed then
Underfloor heating. Concrete floor. Proper storage room. Sink & hot water. Oh, I can hardly wait!

The current workshop has three parts - on the left is the office and test area, in the middle is the wood/metal bit, and on the right is the electronics assembly etc. Photo is from about 10 years ago when the boys were rather smaller...

   

[Retired]

Hi,

Yes there is plenty of plumbing around the compressor area Refugee. The left tap is the incoming mains water supply; the middle tap the hot water and the right tap the cold water; I added the hot water tap many years ago; I also added a water pressure regulator and there is the unused water meter just in view. Around three years ago British Gas was here on three consecutive days trying to cure lots of water leaks which our central heating boiler kept popping. It kicked of with a water leak to the pump so I bought a new pump and installed it which was easy enough to do then the other leaks started to appear one after the other and in the end I simply couldn't cope with the waterfall and called in British Gas on a fixed cost repair; boy this was money well spent and all this in freezing conditions. Our water pressure was tested at just under 10bar and I was informed the repair work would not be under guarantee unless the water pressure was reduced; I was told this at the first visit and by the time the BG engineer arrived the following morning I had installed a water pressure regulator bought cheaply from Screwfix (around £18). Our water pressure is now 3bar; the pressure is reduced but not the flow. Anyone suffering lots of water leaks might find the mains pressure too high?

Thanks for the pictures Nick; the first picture gave me nightmares last night; but what a delightful second picture showing an idyllic workshop setting; just beautiful.

Does the Hobbymat lathe do all you want of it or wold you like a bigger lathe? I find my Clarke much too small for my general turning needs and Bron bought me this Clarke to put me on until I bought a bigger more suitable lathe; I'm unsure as to the future of the Clarke lathe but will decide once my Lorch is fully operational.

Time I made a brew and take it down to the garage; it sure is cold this morning being white with frost which is the usual condition whilst I endure my projects. My ambition today is to tidy the garage after upsetting everything whilst installing the Lorch then I hope to install the new bearings into the Wilmac bandsaw; I'm starting to plan my work each day setting a realistic target.

Kind regards, Col.